GARY Ballance says returning to a winning Yorkshire side has helped maintain his confidence after being left out of England’s Ashes side for the last three Test matches.

Ballance has also revealed the feeling of pride at being able to call himself an Ashes winner and the determination he has to win his place back in the international game.

The White Rose batsman has been back with his county since last month’s omission from the third Test at Edgbaston, with Jonny Bairstow being preferred following a run of 134 runs in four matches against New Zealand and Australia.

Despite this barren run, he still managed to contribute a gutsy 61 during the opening day of the first Test against the Aussies at Cardiff, helping England recover from 43-3 to 430 on the way to a victory.

“After missing out on Test matches, being able to come back into a side where confidence was high and the lads flying has been brilliant,” said the left-hander.

“That’s really helped me because it’s great to be a part of a team who’s doing well.

“It was great to get a few games in the Ashes. I would have liked more, but I contributed at Cardiff with a decent score in the first innings. It would have been nice to have played a few more, although I understand how it works. I can say I’m an Ashes winner.

“There are things I can work on, I know that, and hopefully I can build on what I’ve done so far through the rest of the summer and improve as a player.

“But my main focus now is on winning trophies with Yorkshire. Hopefully I can help them do that.”

Ballance is preparing for tomorrow’s final Royal London one-day Cup Group A match against Northamptonshire at Headingley, with quarter-final qualification looking likely.

The Vikings will know by tonight whether they need to win or not to advance. If other results go their way in today’s matches, they could already be through before bowling or facing a ball against the Steelbacks.

Ballance scored successive half-centuries in matches against Derbyshire and Surrey last month, and added: “We are definitely looking at this as a chance to get some silverware, and hopefully a good performance against Northants will set us up for the quarter-finals. That’s where you want to be, in the knockout stages. Then, anything can happen.”